Ben Johnson has his Chicago Bears sitting atop the NFC after Thanksgiving.
Friday's win over the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, coupled with the Los Angeles Rams' loss in Carolina on Sunday, vaulted the Windy City warriors to the No. 1 seed.
Holding the top spot heading into Week 14 isn't Johnson's goal.
"It doesn't mean anything," Johnson said on Monday, via the team's official transcript. "There are five games left, so we've got a long ways to go, and we have not been guaranteed a spot in the tournament yet. We have to earn that. And the only way you can earn that right is by finding a way to win the next game. So that's where our sole focus is."
The Bears have found a way to win plenty over the past two months. Friday marked their fifth consecutive win, and Johnson's club has won nine of its past 10.
An opportunistic defense, which leads the league with 26 takeaways, and an offense that takes advantage of late-game opportunities have been the winning formula for the Bears.
Johnson's rushing attack, which was slowed early in the season, has found its footing. Chicago stampeded Philly last week, rushing for 281 yards and two scores. D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai each had 125-plus rush yards and one touchdown in Week 13, becoming the first Bears teammate duo each with 100-plus rush yards in a game since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey in Week 10, 1985.
The biggest impediment to Chicago holding on to the top spot during the final five weeks might be the passing game, which comes and goes, along with Caleb Williams' accuracy. It's been a roller-coaster season for the second-year quarterback. There are moments when he looks like a top-5 passer in the league. Next, he'll sail an out-route 10 yards over his receiver's head despite a clean pocket. In the Philly win, Williams completed 17 of 36 passing for 154 yards with a TD and an interception. Williams has been over the 60% completion mark just four times this season and hasn't hit that low bridge since Week 8.
Williams is on pace to be the first QB to rank last in the NFL in completion percentage and have his team earn the No. 1 seed since seeding began in 1975. The last QB to rank even in the bottom 5 on the No. 1 seed was Rex Grossman, who led the Bears to Super Bowl XLI in 2006, per Opta Stats.
Johnson admitted the passing game needs work.
"There's a number of [throws] that we've been talking about where we have to fundamentally be correct," the coach said. "The primary receiver, when he is open, we want to make sure we hit him. And then, all of our pass catchers, we just harped on it today. We need to be more disciplined in our route detail. It's not where it needs to be. Our depths are not proper all the time. Our steps aren't. And so, everybody's got a role to play to get this pass game cleaned up. It's not where it needs to be. We're winning in spite of our passing game, not because of it. None of us are pleased with that right now."
The good news for Chicago is that even as Williams goes through growing pains, the Bears continue to win. The better news: Johnson is building his QB for the future, not the present. The first-year coach isn't hopping off the track and giving Williams a ton of RPOs or WR screens to hide his struggles. He's still asking the QB to run his under-center, play-action game. The coach is trying to build a QB for the long haul.
"I thought that [Friday] was one of the better jobs he's had in terms of getting the play call, calling it in the huddle, getting the motions, the shifts," Johnson said of Williams. "We had a lot of moving parts there in that game to create some eye candy for those defensive players, and I thought he executed it really well for the most part. I screwed up a play call, and he made it right for me. And so, that was good to see. He's getting better each and every week in that regard of playing the quarterback position. Like I said, it's all hands on deck for us to clean up this passing game to make it more of a weapon."
In the meantime, Williams has made enough big plays, particularly late in games, to stack wins.
After some early-season rockiness, Johnson has done a masterful job coaxing his team to victories, calling excellent games and covering over inadequacies. The Bears enter a pivotal stretch, starting with Sunday’s game against bitter rival Green Bay.
"It's a big week. We know how important this rivalry is," Johnson said. "… Two of the most winning franchises in the NFL, and I think that continues to be the case. So, it's a big one."
